Quotes about vegetarianism
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“The world has so much suffering in it already—choosing to be vegetarian is one thing you can do to reduce the suffering on a daily basis.”

Alyssa Milano (1972) American actress, singer, producer

Interview with peta2, as quoted in "Chrissie Hynde to NYC: No More Violence at Ground Zero" by PETA (13 October 2008) https://www.peta.org/blog/chrissie-hynde-nyc-violence-ground-zero/.

World, Suffering

“I’ve really noticed over the last few years how many people are turning towards eating vegetarian or vegan. […] Everyone’s realizing that these things are delicious and good for you. And I think it’s an indication of how we’re becoming more conscious of what we do to our bodies by what we put into them and what we do to the planet.”

Alan Cumming (1965) Scottish actor

At a PETA’s news conference, as reported in “ Announcing the Winner of PETA’s ‘Most Vegan-Friendly City’ Prize https://www.peta.org/blog/announcing-winner-petas-vegan-friendly-city-prize/,” in peta.org (17 September 2014).

People, Thinking

“I’m vegan in my fashion and vegetarian in my food. I don’t buy any leather goods or anything made from animal products – no down, nothing. It’s something people should be mindful of. … I think because I came to live in L. A. the transition was simple because vegetarianism is so common there. And I didn’t feel like I was missing that much by being a vegetarian. … I had a moment about 9 years ago. It was so odd. I was talking to my then-boyfriend and he was talking about a fishing trip and how he’d never had the experience of ‘killing’ his food. Even though I had fished my whole life, something just snapped in me and I said, I’m not eating this anymore. … Being vegan is more challenging, especially when it comes to going out to eat. But I found Chicago has great vegetarian and vegan restaurants. … Healthwise, I notice when I wasn’t eating meat anymore I felt so much lighter.”

Torrey DeVitto (1984) actress, model, violinist

"‘Chicago Med’ star Torrey DeVitto takes holistic approach to health, life" https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/chicago-med-star-torrey-devitto-takes-holistic-approach-to-health-life/, interview with Chicago Sun-Times (24 January 2018).

Life, People, Food, Feeling

“Nothing was ever in tune. People just blindly grabbed at whatever there was: communism, health foods, zen, surfing, ballet, hypnotism, group encounters, orgies, biking, herbs, Catholicism, weight-lifting, travel, withdrawal, vegetarianism, India, painting, writing, sculpting, composing, conducting, backpacking, yoga, copulating, gambling, drinking, hanging around, frozen yogurt, Beethoven, Bach, Buddha, Christ, TM, H, carrot juice, suicide, handmade suits, jet travel, New York City, and then it all evaporated and fell apart. People had to find things to do while waiting to die. I guess it was nice to have a choice.”

Charles Bukowski book Women

Women (1978)

People, Health, Food, Travel

“Jeeves lugged my purple socks out of the drawer as if he were a vegetarian fishing a caterpillar out of his salad.”

P.G. Wodehouse book The Inimitable Jeeves

The Inimitable Jeeves (1923)

Fish

“I think and speak clearer since I cut the dairy out. I can breathe better and perform at a better rate, and my voice is clearer. I can explore different things with my voice that I couldn’t do because of my meat and dairy ingestion. I am proud and blessed to be a vegetarian, everything became clear.”

Common (rapper) (1972) American rapper, actor and author from Illinois

From the documentary Holistic Wellness for the Hip-Hop Generation (2003); as quoted in "Common, Sticman, Badu Featured In New Health Documentary" https://allhiphop.com/2003/08/13/common-sticman-badu-featured-in-new-health-documentary/, AllHipHop (13 August 2003). <br class="br">Interviews

Thinking

“The ultimate tendency of liberalism is vegetarianism.”

Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film maker, actor and political candidate

Herbst Theater, San Francisco City Arts & Lectures Series, (5 February 2007)

“I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years, just about my entire racing career. The past 3 years I’ve been completely vegan, which means I don’t use any animal products whatsoever. … Hard training is, at its essence, a process of making yourself almost sick with work, recovering from it, and adapting to it. … Adequate protein intake from plant sources should not be a concern if you’re consuming the right foods. Again, the primary mistake to avoid is to define your vegetarianism by what you don’t eat, rather than what you do. If you use vegetarianism as an opportunity to explore new dietary options, particularly from cultures that have a tradition of vegetarianism, you should find that you eat a wider, rather than narrower, variety of foods.”

Adam Myerson (1972) American professional bicycle racer

"The Vegetarian Athlete, Part I" https://web.archive.org/web/20041225183944/http://www.cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=37, on his website Cycle-Smart (2004).

Food, Past, Animals, Training

“Man's carnivorous nature is not taken for granted, or praised in the fundamental teachings of Judaism. The rabbis of the 111:32). The implication is clear, that Judaism was engaged in weaning men from such practices. Judaism as a religion offers the option of eating animal flesh, and most Jews do, but in our own country there has been a movement towards vegetarianism among very pious Jews. A whole galaxy of central rabbinic and spiritual teachers including several past and present Chief Rabbis of the Holy Land, have been affirming vegetarianism as the ultimate meaning of Jewish moral teaching. They have been proclaiming the autonomy of all living creatures as the value which our religious tradition must now teach to all of its believers.”

Arthur Hertzberg (1921–2006) American rabbi and historian

“The Jewish Declaration on Nature,” from “ The Assisi Declarations http://www.arcworld.org/downloads/THE%20ASSISI%20DECLARATIONS.pdf” in for WWF's 25th anniversary (29 September 1986).

Men, Religion, Nature, Teachers

“I have definitely come to the conclusion that it is better to eat beefsteak and have a kind tongue than to be a strict vegetarian and, from a pedestal of superiority, look down upon this world. Again, I would point out that generalisations are inexact. I have known many vegetarians who were lovely and sweet and kind and good.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

The Unfinished Autobiography (1951)

Love, World

“A moment of truth here: If you continue to eat processed foods full of sugar and fat, you won’t lose weight. But you knew that. And that’s not why you’re here. You’re here to discover how good you’ll feel on a diet of vegetarian proteins, whole grains, and all the glorious and diverse vegetables and fruits of the earth. If you look around, you won’t see many fat vegans. Vegans tend to be slim and strong, gorgeous and glowing, and that’s because a healthy, plant-based diet creates vitality and vigor—and weight loss simply happens as a result of not eating fatty animal protein. And lest you think a plant-based diet is for weaklings, consider bulls, elephants, gorillas, orangutans, and stallions. These plant eaters are pure lean and powerful muscle.”

Kathy Freston American self-help writer

Source: Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World (2011), p. 3

Truth, Food, Feeling, Thinking

“I compared meat to tobacco as a killer, but to be fair, in one way alone tobacco outshines meat as an evil: it is physically addictive. As we all know, tobacco companies have a history of trying to target their ads to teenagers in the frequently fulfilled hope that these young people will be in their thrall for the rest of their lives. Meat, by contrast, is in no way physically addictive. Eating it is merely a habit, one that people are socially conditioned to believe is normal, even healthy. Whether you choose to phase meat out of your diet slowly, over time, or to stop on a dime and become a vegetarian overnight, you won't suffer any real symptoms of “withdrawal.””

Howard F. Lyman (1938) American activist

But you probably will feel more energy, and enjoy a longer and healthier life.
Source: Mad Cowboy (1998), Ch. 2: The Simple Facts, pp. 40-41

Life, People, Hope, Way

“I take very good care of myself. Growing up as a dancer, you know your body so well, you know what to do to overcome something. … I was raised really, really healthy, pretty much vegetarian and a very clean lifestyle, I don't smoke, I don't drink. I'm more addicted to the things that make me feel good — endorphins after working out.”

Elizabeth Berkley (1972) American actress

"Elizabeth Berkley joins TV's ballroom blitz", interview with the Los Angeles Times (6 April 2008) http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-conversation6apr06-story.html.

Feeling, Drink

“If we harden our hearts to the suffering of the creatures, we must by an immutable law harden our hearts to our brother and sister, and this can never lead to ideal conditions. The adoption of this vegetarian way of life, if the food is balanced, will lead to a new, better, higher, and more noble rhythm of living.”

Gordon Latto (doctor) (1911–1998)

Speech at the 24th International Vegetarian Congress, India, 1977; quoted in The Vegetarians by Rynn Berry (Autumn Press, 1979), pp. 133-134.

Life, Law, Food, Way

“Many years ago, when I was merely a vegetarian, I met the great Cesar Chavez, and he said to me: "If you are interested in preventing animal suffering, the first thing you should give up is eggs and milk, because the animals who produce those foods lead the most unhappy lives. You would do better to eat meat and stop eating eggs and dairy products." I was shocked, since I had no intention of eating meat but had never thought of giving up eggs or dairy products. But when I looked into it I realized he was right, and now, years later, after I have studied the matter up close, I know for certain that he was completely correct about the cruel treatment of the animals raised for such products. The advantages of a vegan diet are enormous for our health, for the environment, for the animals themselves.”

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (1941) American writer and activist

Conclusion, p. 226
The Pig Who Sang to the Moon (2003)

Health, Food, Study, Suffering

“I am vegetarian, so I don't have clothes, shoes or bags made from leather or suede or any animal products. Shoes are hard to find. These are fake Uggs. And I've got a pair of vintage boots, which are PVC.”

Leona Lewis (1985) British singer-songwriter

Press call http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2630762.ece, October 2007

Shoe, Animals, Clothes

“With each succeeding year on the diet — it's called lacto-ovo-vegetarianism — I've felt better. I'm more healthy, I can train with more energy, and I'm not as much of a "hard guy" as I used to be. I've become more concerned with my fellow man and the other inhabitants I share the earth with. Judy and I have now been vegetarians for almost 35 years. We have no fish, fowl or red meat in our diet. Yet I can still carry the same amount of muscle mass as I did in winning my four Mr. Universe titles. People can't believe it. They think that to have big muscles you have to eat meat — it's a persistent and recurring myth. But take it from me, there's nothing magic about eating meat that's going to make you a champion bodybuilder. Anything you can find in a piece of meat, you can find in other foods as well.”

Bill Pearl (1935) American bodybuilder

Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Sports (20th anniversary ed. Bolinas, CA: Shelter Publications, 2005), p. 374 https://books.google.it/books?id=wQD2PgD85O8C&pg=PA374.

People, Food, Guy, Thinking

“The philosophy of nonviolence, which I learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during my involvement in the civil rights movement was first responsible for my change in diet. I became a vegetarian in 1965. … Under the leadership of Dr. King I became totally committed to nonviolence, and I was convinced that nonviolence meant opposition to killing in any form. I felt the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” applied to human beings not only in their dealings with each other—war, lynching, assassination, murder and the like—but in their practice of killing animals for food or sport. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and brutal taking of life.”

Dick Gregory (1932–2017) American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur

Source: Dick Gregory's Natural Diet For Folks Who Eat (1973), pp. 15-16

Life, Death, Pain, War

“My name is Ellen and I'm a vegetarian. Just to add another label to me: I am a lesbian, aquarian and vegetarian. I've said it…”

Ellen DeGeneres (1958) American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress

Ellen Degeneres hosting Paul McCartney and Friends Live: PETA's Millennium Concert, 1999

“Growing up, my diet was pretty easy and simple — I was raised on a vegetarian diet. … When I was 15, I watched the documentary Glass Walls [by PETA] and read The China Study [by T. Colin Campbell], and then it became quite clear to me why I wanted to be vegetarian and why I wanted to adopt a vegan lifestyle. After doing my research, I chose to go vegan and have been dedicated to a vegan diet for four years now. … I feel healthier on a clean, whole foods diet that is very simple — especially during competition. And since a plant-based diet is less calorically dense than other diets, I need to make sure I’m eating enough food so I up my portions a lot. I think of veggies as nutrition and water, not a food where I can get energy so I don’t even count veggies when I’m counting calories and nutrition. For energy, I go to potatoes, whole grains, and starchy veggies. I’m obsessed with carrots and sweet potatoes.”

Tia Blanco (1997)

"Why Surfer Tia Blanco Is Vegan" https://web.archive.org/web/20170315222610/http://www.mensjournal.com:80/health-fitness/articles/why-surfer-tia-blanco-is-vegan-w471552, interview with Men's Journal (March 2017).

Food, Feeling, Thinking, Study

“I was pretty much raised in an entirely vegetarian household. I wasn't aware that there was a whole community of vegetarians out there. There was a point where I said, "I want to understand the other side of this situation," and I ate meat for maybe three years. Then right around the time that I phased meat out and became vegetarian, I recognized that I was lactose intolerant. So again, I was completely naïve to the fact that there was a thing called veganism. After a few years, I started going to a lot of hardcore shows where everybody was straight edge and vegan. That was when I found out that there were other people that were like-minded.”

Derek Grant (drummer)

"Vegan Rockers Alkaline Trio Talk" http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=1716&catId=5, interview with VegNews (February 22, 2010).

People, Communication, Understanding, Time

“Being part of a rock band takes a lot of energy. That is one reason I became a vegetarian. I feel better physically, I have a lot more energy and I feel better emotionally knowing that I am not contributing to the suffering of animals worldwide. Remember, every time you sit down to eat you have a choice to make. I hope you choose to make a difference.”

J.D. Fortune (1973) Canadian singer and songwriter

“J.D. Fortune GoVeg.com Public Service Announcement,” video ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (16 July 2008) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhrxhmLG96c.

Hope, Feeling, Suffering, Time

“Of course, going vegetarian is a positive step to help stop animal suffering; it's also great for your health and the environment. I just feel better since I stopped eating meat, and when you feel better, I think you look better too.”

Pippa Black (1982) actress

Interview with PETA Asia Pacific; quoted in "TV Star Goes Green for PETA's Ad Campaign" http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0711/S00107.htm, Scoop (20 November 2007).

Health, Feeling, Thinking, Suffering

“Whether you eat a vegetarian diet or you include a very small amount of animal foods, for optimal health you must get the majority of calories from unrefined plant food with a minimal amount of animal products. A large quantity of unrefined plant food grants the greatest protection against developing serious disease.”

Joel Fuhrman (1953) Family Physician and author

Source: Disease-Proof Your Child (2005), Ch. 4, pp. 148-149

Health, Disease, Food, Optimism

“Matt Morgan: Have you been thinking about your religion/new order?Russell Brand: Yes I have actually Matt, and I've got a few more theories for it to make it absolutely watertight. We'll all be living on a nice island, vegetarians doing yoga and that. We'll get rid of ideas such as the nuclear family and like in African tribes the word 'mother' will mean all female members of the tribe and the word 'father' will mean all male members. There will be a lot of [wolf whistles] … and also we're not going to have no more currency, stuff like that, no brain-bending or mind-washing and we'll all be free to explore ourselves although there will be an age of consent and it'll be the same as usual so as people don't go 'Oh no…'.Matt Morgan: Pretty watertight, isn't it?Russell Brand: Pretty watertight so far Matt, I'd like to see a political theorist drive a bus through that. If so where did he get his licence? As we're in charge of issuing bus licences and they're not issued to possible dissenters, who are immediately killed on traitor's cove; one of the nicest parts of our island, decorated with all lovely corpses.”

Russell Brand (1975) British comedian, actor, and author

Radio 2 Show - 13th January 2007
Radio 2 Show (2007–2008)

Love, People, Age, Family

“Animals that are killed for their flesh lead miserable lives. They are kept in disgusting conditions. The simplest little thing you can do not to hurt animals is just not eat them. I'm bringing my four children up vegetarian, and I know absolutely that I'm giving them the very best start in life.”

Sadie Frost (1965) English actress and producer

“Sadie Frost: Vegetarian Testimonial for PETA”, video ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (14 October 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTkXMQSJOpI.

Life, Children, Animals, Hurt

“Ascribing human brotherhood, social justice, world peace, self-sacrifice and compassion to Christianity and Islam is tantamount to proclaiming that the wolf is a votary of vegetarianism.”

Sita Ram Goel (1921–2003) Indian activist

Freedom of expression - Secular Theocracy Versus Liberal Democracy (1998)

World, Peace, Justice, Wolf

“I went vegetarian after watching Earthlings. I had no idea how intense and how horrible factory farms are. I have such a love for animals that I can’t justify having their heads cut off for me. And the slavery of the dairy industry motivates me to go more vegan. I can’t justify animal slavery for my enjoyment. … I feel stronger than I’ve ever been, mentally, physically, and emotionally. My plant-based diet has opened up more doors to being an athlete. It’s a whole other level that I’m elevating to. I stopped eating animals about a year ago, and it’s a new life. I feel like a new person, a new athlete.”

Hannah Teter (1987) snowboarder

"Hannah Teter, Gold-Medal Snowboarder, Carves a Meaningful Life", interview with the HuffPost (21 April 2010) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avital-binshtock/hannah-teter-gold-medal-s_b_468137.html.

Love, Life, Feeling, Motivation

“No, I played around with vegetarianism back in the ‘70s. One thing, my physiology just got to have animal protein. I get hypoglycemic, I get all light-headed unless I eat animal protein.”

Temple Grandin (1947) USA-american doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist

Light, Animals

“John Pilger: I read that you were a vegetarian and you are seriously concerned about the way animals are killed.
Alan Clark: Yeah.
John Pilger: Doesn’t that concern extend to the way humans, albeit foreigners, are killed?
Alan Clark: Curiously not.”

Alan Clark (1928–1999) British politician

Interviewed by John Pilger in the documentary Death of a Nation, broadcast on ITV February 22, 1994. <br class="br">The interview was transcribed in New Statesman and Society, February 18, 1994 http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1994/02/21/0009.html.

Way, Reading, Animals

“My vegetarian diet allows me to lead a healthier lifestyle, reduce my carbon footprint, and save the lives of more than 100 animals every year. I’m stronger and healthier than ever, and I feel good about doing something positive for myself, animals, and the planet.”

Daniel Bryan (1981) American professional wrestler

"WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan Says, 'Go Vegetarian!'", peta2TV (24 June 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeqkrtDDpeU.

Feeling, Animals

“Vegetarianism is harmless enough though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness.”

Sir Robert Hutchison, 1st Baronet

Address to the British Medical Association, Winnipeg, Canada (1930); as quoted in Oxford Dictionary of Medical Quotations by Peter McDonald (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 51 https://books.google.it/books?id=MuTnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA51.

“My view [is] that what morality boils down to is, “Don’t harm, and do help.” And now the question is, “Can creatures like chickens and cows be harmed?” And the answer is, “Of course they can.” Consequently, I think it’s immoral to harm them. And that seems to me to provide a very strong moral reason to be vegetarian, to not wear leather… it seems to me that our treatment of animals is morally appalling… and that we ought to radically revise the way we live, precisely because they feel pain, they can be hurt, and we’re constantly hurting these creatures!”

Shelly Kagan (1956) American philosopher

Debate: Is God Necessary for Morality? (2011)

Pain, Way, Feeling, Question

“In early times of Christianity, even those who used animal food themselves came to think of the vegetarian as one who lived a higher life, and approached more nearly to Christian perfection.”

George Salmon (1819–1904) mathematician and Anglican theologian

A Historical Introduction to the Study of the Books of the New Testament (London: John Murray, 1885; 4th ed. 1889), p. 203 http://archive.org/stream/historicalintrod00salmuoft#page/203/mode/2up.

Life, Food, Thinking, Time

“I said to him [Hugh Dowding], "Well, as you eat meat, as you are a peer and have a seat in the House of Lords, could you do something about getting it humanely killed?" He said, "Well, isn't it?" I said, "I'm asking you." Well, we had a very, very happy marriage, and he never went anywhere without telling me where he was going. He'd nearly always say, "Look, can't you get out of what you are doing and come too?" And on three occasions he didn't tell me where he was going, he had just gone. He came back very depressed and didn't seem to want to talk about whatever it was. I wondered what was worrying him. When Sunday came, his usual salted beef was served, a dish that he liked very much. And he stood up to carve it, then he sat down, and he said, "What is it you're eating?" "Oh," I said, "well, as you know, it's a vegetarian dish." He said, "Would you have enough for me to have some? And don't ever get meat in this house for me again!" And he became a vegetarian then and there, and was one for about seventeen years till his death. … Well, if you're going to speak in the House of Lords, you've jolly well got to know your facts. Yes, he'd been to three slaughterhouses and was appalled.”

Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding (1908–1993) British noble

Source: Interview by Rynn Berry, pp. 137-38

Death, Marriage, Happiness, Housing

“Becoming a vegetarian is not merely a symbolic gesture. Nor is it an attempt to isolate oneself from the ugly realities of the world, to keep oneself pure and so without responsibility for the cruelty and carnage all around. Becoming a vegetarian is a highly practical and effective step one can take toward ending both the killing of nonhuman animals and the infliction of suffering upon them.”

Peter Singer book Animal Liberation

Source: Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals (1975), Ch. 4: Becoming a Vegetarian

World, Reality, Suffering, Animals

“I've been a vegetarian for 21 years and a vegan plant-based athlete for 5 years. … Nothing takes the place of real plant-based nutrition.”

Jason P. Lester (1974) American triathlete and distance runner

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/n7OlTXNTcx/ (12 May 2014).

“I've been blessed with playing the drums and having a young mind and staying healthy. I’m a vegetarian, I take good care of myself. I'll be the last Skynyrd standing. All those guys smoke themselves to death. They all drank themselves to death, drugs. … I still have stainless steel from the knee down in my right leg; I have bone against bone against stainless steel against nerve ending. Every step I take is painful, but when I play drums I push everything away, I get into the zone and I do what I’m supposed to do. … I play Lynyrd Skynyrd music because that's who I am. Everything else has been taken from me, my reputation, my world, my money has all been stolen from me by people that I thought loved me. However they can't take away my ability to play drums.”

Artimus Pyle (1948) American musician

"Rock Survivor: Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle keeps the music alive his way" http://tbrnews.com/lifestyle/rock-survivor-lynyrd-skynyrd-drummer-artimus-pyle-keeps-the-music/article_1c30bfee-1501-11e3-8bdb-001a4bcf887a.html, interview with The Beach Reporter (4 September 2013).

Love, Death, Money, Pain

“So far from vegetarianism springing from the anthropomorphism of predominantly urban dwellers, as has been suggested by its more superficial critics, it and its inevitable successor veganism are increasingly being recognised as a logical, even inescapable, process, essentially relevant, essentially practical, essentially compassionate to all species.”

Jon Wynne-Tyson (1924) British writer

"Dietethics: Its Influence on Future Farming Patterns", in Animal Rights: A Symposium, edited by David Paterson & Richard D. Ryder (1979), p. 141

Spring

“Some scoffers have asked, “Where are the pre-Flood civilizations? If there was an entire civilization that was destroyed in the Flood of Noah, why don’t we find their cities, highways or machines as we dig in the earth?” That’s a fair question, but it is based on a false premise. What type of stuff would they need in a perfect world? If the weather was perfect and the animals were friendly and food was abundant and free and everyone was vegetarian, what would they need? They wouldn’t need houses to be protected from weather, climate, or animals. I don't see why they would need buildings of any kind! If the earth was producing enormous quantities of food from pole to pole, they wouldn’t need tractors, plows nor a highway system, nor vehicles to move food and goods from one region to another. They wouldn’t need lots of things we need for survival and protection today.”

Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist

Source: What On Earth Is About To Happen… For Heaven’s Sake? (2013), p. 56

World, Food, Question, Animals

“For the moment we will put aside the consideration of the effect upon others — which is so infinitely more important — and think only of the results for the man himself. It is necessary to do this because one of the objections frequently brought against vegetarianism is that it is a beautiful theory, but one the working of which is impracticable, since it is supposed that a man cannot live without devouring dead flesh. That objection is irrational, and is founded upon ignorance or perversion of facts. I am myself an example of its falsity; for I have lived without the pollution of flesh food — without meat, fish or fowl — for the last thirty-eight years, and I not only still survive, but have been during all that time in remarkably good health. Nor am I in any way peculiar in this, for I know some thousands of others who have done the same thing. I know some younger ones who have been so happy as to be unpolluted by the eating of flesh during the whole of their lives; and they are distinctly freer from disease than those who partake of such things.”

Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) English theosophist

Source: Vegetarianism and Occultism (1913), p. 4-5

Happiness, Health, Disease, Food

“It is often said that if slaughterhouses were made of glass, most people would be vegetarians. If the general public knew what went on inside animal experimentation laboratories, they would be abolished. However, the parallel is not exact. Slaughterhouses are invisible because the public wants them that way. Everyone knows what goes on inside them; they simply do not want to be confronted with it. Most people do not know what goes on with animal experimentation. Slaughterhouses allow visits. Laboratories where animal experiments are performed are secretive. Perhaps those who conduct the experiments know they would be stopped if what they do were known even by other scientists. Perhaps they are ashamed.”

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson book When Elephants Weep

Conclusion, pp. 216-217
When Elephants Weep (1994)

People, Secret, Way, Animals

“Vegetarianism: a kashrut for our age.”

Arthur Green (1941) American rabbi and theologian

Seek My Face, Speak My Name: A Contemporary Jewish Theology (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1992), p. 87.

Age

“Many Christians who agree that harming a dog or cat is wrong think nothing of harming cows, pigs, chickens, fish and other creatures. We need to understand that if we’re eating meat, we are paying people to be cruel to animals. For the simple reasons that all animals are creatures beloved by God and that God created them with a capacity for pain and suffering, we should adopt a vegetarian diet.”

John Dear (1959) Catholic priest from the United States

Christianity and Vegetarianism (1990)

God, Pain, People, Dogs

“I intensely dislike the job of butchering a farm animal. The pig we butchered today squealed unmercifully when it was shot. It thought we were going to feed it but instead it received a bullet to its brain. Eating animals is so uncivilized, I am beginning to understand why GB Shaw, Tolstoy and Albert Einstein are vegetarians…”

Virgil John Tangborn (1920–1944)

March 4, 1942

Understanding, Animals

“I had a lot of changes in my life since I turned 40. In fact, even since I turned 50. I became a vegetarian. I have never felt better in my life. I have more energy, I'm so much more alert. I lost 20 pounds, that's right! I really really recommend going vegetarian whatever time in your life. Peace begins on your plate. I'm Carol Leifer and I'm a vegan.”

Carol Leifer (1956) American actor and comedian

“Carol Leifer: Vegetarian Testimonial (Life After 40),” ad for PETA (13 July 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkucyjXacU4.

Life, Peace, Change, Time

“The word “vegan,” newer and more challenging than “vegetarian” because it includes every sentient being in its circle of concern and addresses all forms of unnecessary cruelty from an essentially ethical perspective, with a motivation of compassion rather than health or purity, points to an ancient idea that has been articulated for many centuries, especially in the world's spiritual traditions.”

Will Tuttle book The World Peace Diet

Source: The World Peace Diet (2005), Ch. 2

Health, World, Motivation, Idea

“With the possible exception of sex, there is no more basic human activity than eating, rendering it an appropriate candidate for Jewish rituals designed to maintain our focus on Godliness. The table is seen as an altar, and the concern with Kashrut extends to removing knives, instruments of war, from the table during the Birkat HaMazon (blessing after the meal). Tsaar baalei khayim, the concern for the pain of all living things and the reverence for life, is another essential aspect of kashrut. Vegetarianism is clearly the Torah's ideal; the Garden of Eden is a vegetarian society.”

Bonnie Koppell American rabbi

Source: Vegetarianism, p. 37

Life, Pain, War, Sex

“Although I am not as strict a vegetarian as I once was, I do continue to choose to eat more like a vegetarian than not. I would call myself a "conscious eater". It all started with my desire to be as lean and healthy as possible as a teenager around 17-years-old. With more education, as well as trial and error, it also turned into an expression of my attempt to show compassion for all living things.”

Charlene Wong (1966) Canadian figure skater

" Charlene Wong: Everything is okay in the end and if it's not okay, it's not the end", in Lifeskate.com (15 December 2008) http://www.lifeskate.com/skate/2008/12/charlene-wong-everything-is-okay-in-the-end-and-if-its-not-okay-its-not-the-end.html

Education, Error

“Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice. Please choose vegetarianism. Do it for the animals. Do it for the environment, and do it for your health.”

Alec Baldwin (1954) American actor, writer, producer, and comedian

From the documentary film Meet Your Meat (2002), last sentence of the documentary.

Health, Time, Animals

“There's no doubt in my mind that going vegetarian has made me feel better not only physically, but also because I learned about the suffering of animals who are raised and killed for food. I feel good knowing that I'm not contributing to that.”

Sophie Monk (1979) Australian actor and singer

"Vegetarian Sophie Monk goes nude for PETA", Herald Sun (21 October 2007) http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archive/entertainment/vegetarian-sophie-monk-goes-nude-for-peta/news-story/e74593712916e7eaf5ae93f3346073a8.

Food, Feeling, Suffering, Learning

“I have been a vegetarian since I was born and I just became vegan about 2 years ago. … I hope to make a difference in the world by sharing my diet and lifestyle. I just want to travel the world, surf incredible places, smile a lot, make others smile, be inspired, and inspire.”

Tia Blanco (1997)

"Tia Blanco, vegan surfer" http://www.greatveganathletes.com/tia-blanco-vegan-surfer, interview with GreatVeganAthletes.com (March 30, 2015).

World, Smile, Hope, Travel

“With all the wonderful vegetarian foods available today, it doesn’t take a mentalist to realize that eating meat just doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s not healthy, it’s devastating to our planet, and it means a cruel and painful death for literally billions of animals every year. So why not give vegetarianism a try? You will have a lot more energy, you can lose weight, and best of all you will know that you are creating a better world for all the animals that live here.”

Owain Yeoman (1978) British actor

“The Mentalist's Owain Yeoman,” second ad for PETA (13 May 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qskHxSKdmJg.

Death, Pain, World, Food

“I initially became a vegetarian for this reason: I have a great hatred for the treatment of animals in what we call factory farms. That, I felt, was one of the most horrible and bestial things, and I was constantly protesting about it. Then, when I protested, somebody would say to me, "Do you eat meat?" And if I said, "yes," then they would say, "Well, how do you know that that isn't made in this way?" And I realized that if I were to remain a meat-eater that I couldn't go on protesting. So that was the actual impulse. But since then I've come to feel that it does purify one, and I would find it very abhorrent to go back to eating meat. I've found that it has got a spiritual significance, but my initial motive was that—to be able to give a valid answer to that.”

Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990) English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist

Interview with Rynn Berry

Way, Feeling, Motivation, Animals

“The word "vegetarian" derives from the Latin "vegetus"—whole, sound, fresh, lively. The meat humans eat is neither whole, sound, fresh or lively. It is dis-limbed, tainted, decaying, stale and dead. A diet consisting of green leafy vegetables, root crops, grains, berries, nuts and fruits supplies all the body needs for strength and well-being. It is healthful food, aesthetic, economical, harmless to our brother animals, easy to grow, to prepare and to digest. Flesh-eating by humans is unnecessary, irrational, anatomically unsound, unhealthy, unhygienic, uneconomic, unaesthetic, unkind and unethical.”

Helen Nearing (1904–1995) American writer

Source: Simple Food for the Good Life (1980), Ch. 4

Health, Food, Animals, Dead

“There's no question that largely vegetarian diets are as healthy as you can get. The evidence is so strong and overwhelming and produced over such a long period of time that it's no longer debatable.”

Marion Nestle American academic

Reported in Nutrition Action Healthletter, October 1996 issue; as quoted in J. M. Masson, The Face on Your Plate (New York: Norton & Company, 2009), p. 172

Question, Strong, Time

“I am a vegetarian and so is my baby! … I became a vegetarian in small stages starting at the ripe old age of 16 years old! … When I turned 16 I started to get a little freaked out if while I was eating my KFC, I looked at my chicken drum sticks too long. If I noticed the veins or cartilage etc. … I started to see that it was once an actual living breathing animal. … I have this beautiful baby girl and I have a choice to make. Do I feed her meat? Or no? I went with my gut, I had learned over the years how to feed myself healthy, and made sure I got enough iron, so I would do the same for Luna Marie… I knew nothing else.”

Constance Marie (1965) actress

"No “MOO” for Me and Luna Marie", in her official website ConstanceMarie.net (11 August 2010) http://constancemarie.net/2010/no-moo-for-me-and-luna-marie.

Age, Beauty, Girl, Learning

“We're basically a vegetarian species and should be eating a wide variety of plant foods and minimizing our intake of animal foods. … Usually, the first thing a country does in the course of economic development is to introduce a lot of livestock. Our data are showing that this is not a very smart move, and the Chinese are listening. They're realizing that animal-based agriculture is not the way to go. … Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products. The Chinese data indicate that people need less calcium than we think and can get adequate amounts from vegetables.”

T. Colin Campbell (1934) American biochemist

Reported in "Huge Study Of Diet Indicts Fat And Meat" http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/08/science/huge-study-of-diet-indicts-fat-and-meat.html?pagewanted=2 by Jane Brody, in The New York Times (8 May 1990), p. 2.

People, Food, Way, Thinking

“Meat-eating is undesirable if the person is interested in physical and mental well-being, in securing tranquility for the body and mind. … The greatest religious teachers have always recommended a vegetarian diet because it is a diet that stills the mind as well as strengthening the body. They are unanimous in saying that a peaceful mind, a serene mind, is necessary to recognize the God within you. "Blessed are the pure in hearth; they shall see God," the Bible says. And yoga strives to calm and pacify the mind so that the person can recognize the God within.”

Satchidananda Saraswati (1914–2002) Yogiraj

Interview in The Vegetarians by Rynn Berry (Brookline, MA: Autumn Press, 1979), pp. 166-167.

God, Peace, Teachers, Personality

“…shall we say that the difference between a vegetarian and a cannibal is just a matter of taste?”

Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009) Philosopher, historian of ideas

"The Idolatry of Politics", New Republic, 1986-June-16, page 31.

“Why to bring revolution? They are also human beings. Why don’t we treat ourselves as human beings? I speak Hindi and you speak your native language, but we are all human beings. Why do you treat them as foreigners? They also want to adapt to our tradition- some are visiting temples, they become vegetarians, some have given up spoons and eat using their hands, they try to become Sadhus. Why do you want to treat them as foreigners, they are human beings! If we get influenced by their tradition, it’s okay. If they get influenced by our tradition, it’s okay. Younger generation who try to emulate them will eventually come back to their native tradition!”

Hariprasad Chaurasia (1938) Indian bansuri player

On Western Culture and the so-called Revolution.
Melodies of Brindavan: Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia

“I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry and unhappy like we (humans) do.”

Cesar Chavez (1927–1993) American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist

As quoted in Lumen https://books.google.it/books?hl=it&id=c4Bn6G2AfrIC (1986) by G. J. Caton, p. 133

Feeling, Animals

“How far our position is a minority one will differ from person to person here. If we are against factory farms, we are morally condemning widespread and perfectly legal practices involving perhaps the majority of the human community. If we are vegetarians, we hold a position which is very much a minority one. If we are pretty radical anti-vivisectionists, we also hold what seems to be a minority position, involving as it does a radical criticism of the law and the establishment of this country.”

Timothy Sprigge (1932–2007) British philosopher

Source: The Animal Welfare Movement and the Foundations of Ethics, p. 87

Law, Communication, Personality, Country

“We've learned that you should never trust English professors who stick computer chips in their arms, breakfast cereal mascots, Stephen King, the Borg collective, vegetarians, Christians, Microsoft Word helpers and people who put five exclamation marks on the ends of their statements.”

Ben Croshaw (1983) English video game journalist

I'm Off
Fully Ramblomatic, Essays

People, Learning

“Vegetarians should have that moral basis—that a man was not born a carnivorous animal, but born to live on the fruits and herbs that the earth grows.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India

Speech at Meeting of London Vegetarian Society (20 November 1931), in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (New Delhi: Publications Division Government of India, 1999 electronic edition), Volume 54 http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-54.pdf, p. 189. <br class="br">1930s

Animals

“My path to vegetarianism was a slow one, it was something I thought about for a long time, and when I read “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer, something in me clicked. I believe that feeding oneself shouldn’t require torturing animals, and that one can take pleasure in food even without meat. … Young people who follow me know that Love Therapy refers to food that doesn’t cause harm to living animals or our planet. … I try to stick to a vegetarian diet because I think what humans are doing to animals is terrible. When I shop, I concentrate on fruits and vegetables. Everyone has a goal, and mine right now is to become vegan – I think of them as modern saints, as they make sacrifices for a better, collective good.”

Elio Fiorucci (1935–2015) Italian designer and businessperson

"Elio Fiorucci: Fashion, Love Therapy & Vegetarianism", interview with Roberta Schira, in finedininglovers.com (15 November 2013) https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/interview-vegetarian-designer-elio-fiorucci/.

Love, People, Pleasure, Food

“After years of trial and error Franz [Kafka] has at last found the only diet that suits him, the vegetarian one. For years he suffered from his stomach; now he is as healthy and as fit as I have ever known him. Then along come his parents, of course, and in the name of love try to force him back into eating meat and being ill—it is just the same with his sleeping habits. At last he has found what suits him best, he can sleep, can do his duty in that senseless office, and get on with his literary work. But then his parents… This really makes me bitter.”

Max Brod (1884–1968) author, composer, and journalist

Letter to Felice Bauer (22 November 1912), in Letters to Felice by Franz Kafka, translated by James Stern and Elizabeth Duckworth (New York: Shocken Books, 2016), p. 57 https://books.google.it/books?id=EwVSqTfHdEAC&pg=PA57.

Love, Error, Parent, Sleep

“Now, I'm no shrinking violet. I played hockey until half of my teeth were knocked down my throat. And I'm extremely competitive on a tennis court — I'll dive for any ball on any surface. But that experience at the slaughterhouse overwhelmed me. When I walked out of there, I knew I would never again harm an animal! I knew all the physiological, economic, and ecological arguments supporting vegetarianism, but it was that firsthand experience of man's cruelty to animals that laid the real groundwork for my commitment to vegetarianism.”

Peter Burwash (1945) Canadian tennis player

Vegetarian Primer (New York: Atheneum, 1983), p. 75

Support, Animals, Hockey

“Robert Parish and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the two reasons I became a vegetarian fully in the first place. They where the first ones I saw and I was 27 at the time and there was an article about Robert Parish and one of his martial art forms and I remember playing against this guy and asking him how he was running up and down the court with me and I was in my twenties. He said, "you have to learn to pace yourself young fella". … Then I would go, "well then your car has no gas" and I thought about that. So at 27 I made the change. … I had a good career but Robert Parish had a view to look at stats and a better career. If I would have known how to take care of my body … then I would have played until I was 40 as well.”

John Salley (1964) American basketball player

“Along Came a Spider-An Interview With John Salley,” in Basketball 24/48/82 (12 August 2014) http://basketball244882.blogspot.com/2014/08/along-came-spider-interview-with-john_12.html.

Art, Cars, Guy, Learning

“If you understand about the natural world, we’re a part of the system and you can’t feed lions grass. But because we have the intelligence to choose… But we haven’t got the gut to allow us to be totally vegetarian for a start. You can tell by the shape of our guts and the shape of our teeth that we evolved to be omnivores. We aren't carnivores like lions but neither are we elephants.”

David Attenborough (1926) British broadcaster and naturalist

When asked if realising that animals are intelligent makes him want to be a vegetarian.
Interview in Metro 29 Jan 2013

World, Intelligence, Understanding, Nature

“Some people would rather give the appearance of feeling well by having a face-lift, exercising violently, or dieting severely—but they don't solve the problem; they only disguise it. If they ate properly, they wouldn't have to strain to seem fit; they would be fit. The simplest and most natural way usually turns out to be the easiest. Consider nursing, for instance. It's obviously the most natural way to nourish a baby, but it's also the easiest; you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night and fix bottles. If you're a vegetarian, you don't have to cook food in a smelly, greasy kitchen, or clean a lot of pots and pans with the rancid grease on them. Ugh! Though it may seem easier to take a slab of dead flesh and toss it in a broiler, it's much more interesting to do something creative with vegetables. So that my children don't have to snack on sweets or bowls of cereal—it's no better than sawdust, you know—I set out platters of avocadoes, pineapples, papayas, bananas, almonds, dried figs and prunes. … I serve organic apple juice in place of milk. I have the most beautiful golden honey for the herb tea—and so, you see, no one need feel deprived on a vegetarian diet.”

Cloris Leachman (1926) American actress

Interview in The Vegetarians https://books.google.it/books?id=vK_uAAAAMAAJ by Rynn Berry (Autumn Press, 1979), p. 20.

Children, People, Food, Beauty

“What he dreads is that, during a lull in the conversation, someone will come up with what he calls The Question—“What led you, Mrs. Costello, to become a vegetarian?”—and that she will then get on her high horse and produce what he and Norma call The Plutarch Response. … The response in question comes from Plutarch's moral essays. His mother has it by heart; he can reproduce it only imperfectly. “You ask me why I refuse to eat flesh. I, for my part, am astonished that you can put in your mouth the corpse of a dead animal, am astonished that you do not find it nasty to chew hacked flesh and swallow the juices of death-wounds.” Plutarch is a real conversation-stopper: it is the word juices that does it. Producing Plutarch is like throwing down a gauntlet; after that, there is no knowing what will happen.”

J.M. Coetzee book The Lives of Animals

Source: The Lives of Animals (1999), p. 38

Death, Question, Heart, Animals

“Once he [Kafka] went to the Berlin aquarium … Suddenly he began to speak to the fish in their illuminated tanks, "Now at last I can look at you in peace, I don't eat you any more." It was the time that he turned strict vegetarian. If you have never heard Kafka saying things of this sort with his own lips, it is difficult to imagine how simply and easily, without any affectation, without the least sentimentality—which was something almost completely foreign to him—he brought them out. Among my notes I find something else that Kafka said about vegetarianism. He compared vegetarians with the early Christians, persecuted everywhere, everywhere laughed at, and frequenting dirty haunts. "What is meant by its nature for the highest and the best, spreads among the lowly people."”

Max Brod (1884–1968) author, composer, and journalist

Franz Kafka: A Biography, translated by G. Humphreys Roberts and Richard Winston (New York: Schocken Books, 1960), p. 74.

People, Peace, Imagination, Nature

“What I've found is that, because most people are deeply disturbed by and feel guilty about eating meat, and yet at the same time fear not eating it, they defend themselves from having to acknowledge such conflicting feelings. These psychological defenses include denial (“Animals don't really suffer when they're raised and killed for meat.”); justification (“Animals are meant to be eaten by humans.”); dichotomization (“I'd never eat a dog, but I love bacon.”); avoidance (“Don't tell me that; you'll ruin my meal.”); and, most importantly, dissociation (“If I think about the animal when I'm eating meat I feel disgusted.”). … When people break through their dissociation, the feelings that typically emerge are empathy—and therefore disgust. That's why people tend to be disgusted by the idea of eating “unusual” animals, such as dogs and gorillas; they haven't learned to dissociate from these kinds of meat. It's also why vegetarians usually find all meats disgusting.”

Melanie Joy (1966) American psychologist

Source: Strategic Action for Animals (2008), p. 117

Love, People, Fear, Dogs

“The vegetarian movement is an ancient movement and is not quite a modern one.”

Morarji Desai (1896–1995) Former Indian Finance Minister, Freedom Fighters, Former prime minister

19th World Vegetarian Congress 1967

“I became a vegetarian 3 years ago. … The best thing about being a vegetarian for me, number one is I know I'm not harming any animals. … The number two thing is increased strength. I'm a lot stronger than I was when I was eating meat. … Most of your most powerful animals in the wild are vegetarian, so I'm trying to get my strength to that level. I don't know if I'll make it or not, but elephants are vegetarians. They're pretty big, so…”

Michael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012) American actor

"Michael Clarke Duncan's Exclusive Interview With PETA", video on PETA's YouTube channel (10 May 2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGh2_qgYJd8.

Animals

“I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants.”

A. Whitney Brown (1952) American stand-up comedian

The Big Picture: An American Commentary (1991)

Love, Hate, Animals

“One respectful question will be addressed to Jews who plan to continue to eat meat: In view of strong Jewish mandates to be compassionate to animals, preserve our health, help feed the hungry, preserve and protect the environment, conserve resources, and seek and pursue peace, and the very negative effects animal-centered diets have in each of these areas, will you now become a vegetarian, or at least sharply reduce your consumption of animal products?”

Richard H. Schwartz (1934) American mathematician and writer

Judaism and Vegetarianism (revised edition, New York: Lantern Books, 2001), pp. 181 https://archive.org/stream/JudaismAndVegetarianism#page/n205/mode/2up-182.

Health, Peace, Question, Strong

“It is in no way a digression to mention the horrors of war in connection with massacres of cattle and carnivorous banquets. People's diet corresponds closely to their morality. Blood calls for blood. In this connection, if one considers the various people he has known, there will be no doubt that in general, the agreeable manners, kindness of disposition, and equanimity of the vegetarians contrasts markedly with the qualities of the inveterate meat-eaters and avid drinkers of blood.”

Élisée Reclus (1830–1905) French geographer and writer

On Vegetarianism (1901), in Anarchy, Geography, Modernity: The Radical Social Thought of Elisée Reclus, edited by John P. Clark and Camille Martin (Lexington Books, 2004), p. 174 https://books.google.it/books?id=Dge71MovfE0C&pg=PA174.

War, People, Way

“Man can live without animal flesh; consequently the eating of this flesh is purely to gratify an appetite — and a perverted appetite at that. No normal appetite could possibly crave flesh of any kind. So that there is no possible excuse for the killing and eating of animals, than this — except, of course, ignorance. After all, that is the greatest factor! It is against this taking of life unnecessarily that the vegetarian protests…”

Hereward Carrington (1880–1958) Jersey parapsychologist

Source: The Natural Food for Man, p. 157

Life, Animals

“Today, with the weapons of mass destruction at man’s disposal, the human race itself is in imminent danger of being destroyed. It is a far cry from vegetarianism to atomic or hydrogen bomb, but if you look at it, there is no escape from vegetarianism ultimately if we want to escape from the hydrogen bomb. Any integrated view of life as a whole will reveal to us the connection between the individual’s food and his behaviour towards others, and through a process of ratiocination which is not fantastic, we cannot but arrive at the conclusion that the only means of escaping the hydrogen bomb is to escape the mentality which has produced it, and the only way to escape that mentality is to cultivate respect for all life, life in all forms, under all conditions. It is only another name for vegetarianism.”

Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) Indian political leader

"Spiritualism, Morality and Eating Habits" (Inaugural speech at the International Vegetarian Congress at Bombay on November 9, 1957), in Speeches Of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President Of India, 1957-58, p. 96 https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.100670/2015.100670.Speeches-Of-Drrajendra-Prasad-President-Of-India1957-58#page/n105/mode/2up/search/MORALITY+AND+EATING.

Life, Food, Way, Cry

“[on vegetarianism] I didn't climb to the top of the fuckin' food chain to eat carrots.”

Ron White (1956) American comedian

They Call Me Tater Salad

Food

“The more red meat and blood we eat, the more bloodthirsty we get, the more violent we get. The more vegetarian food that we eat, the more peace is taken into us.”

Ziggy Marley (1968) Jamaican musician

“Ziggy Marley,” interview with Peta2 (20 July 2011) https://www.peta2.com/news/ziggy-marley/.

Peace, Food

“I like animals, all animals. I wouldn’t hurt a cat or a dog—or a chicken or a cow. And I wouldn’t ask someone else to hurt them for me. That’s why I’m a vegetarian.”

Peter Dinklage (1969) American actor

“ 'Game of Thrones' Star Peter Dinklage on Why He's Vegetarian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlQwEgjCxE,” ad for PETA (26 August 2011).

Dogs, Cats, Animals, Hurt

“Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better. … I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating.”

Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford (1946) British economist and academic

Interview with The Times; as quoted in "Lord Stern: 'People should give up eating meat to halt climate change'" https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/6442164/Lord-Stern-People-should-give-up-eating-meat-to-halt-climate-change.html, The Telegraph (27 October 2009).

People, World, Thinking, Water

“Thirty-two years ago, I became a vegetarian. I always thought it was a bit weird eating dead bodies even though my parents said it was all right. But I saw "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and that did it. In the movie, they're doing the same thing to people that they do to animals, and so I gradually got off eating meat…. The health thing came way later. Veganism came four years ago, and it was more of a health decision.”

Phil Collen (1957) British musician

"How Def Leppard's Phil Collen traded the booze for a better body," interview with the Los Angeles Times (27 June 2015) http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-phil-collen-def-leppard-interview-20150627-story.html.

People, Health, Way, Parent

“I am Joss Stone and I am a vegetarian. I'm a singer, a songwriter, a performer and a human being accepting of all sizes, shapes, colours and species.”

Joss Stone (1987) English singer and actress

Said in a magazine advert http://www.peta2.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Joss-Stone-Veg-peta2-Ad.jpg for PETA, pictured with a speckled hen. Quoted in "Soul diva Stone in veggie ad", in Mirror.co.uk (15 March 2007) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/soul-diva-stone-in-veggie-ad-458507.

“That song [5-3-10-4 from Maybe I'll Catch Fire] really is about how I saw things. I wrote that song when I was still doing the bike messenger grind and you know being down by the stockyards where they would take all the animals and slaughter them; there were a bunch of slaughterhouses down there and there were cows and pigs being frozen and chunks of meat were hanging in trucks, it was such a pinnacle time in my life. … I haven’t eaten meat for something like 17 years. I remember I was eating meat one day and my cat was looking up at me and I thought, ‘Man I wouldn’t eat my cat. What difference would it make if it was a little cat or a cow?’ and it occurred to me that we are all connected and I didn’t want to contribute to that. All the time people around me are eating meat but that is their thing, it is not until they ask that I inform them that I am a vegetarian and it is a big part of who I am.”

Matt Skiba (1976) American musician

"Interview: Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio, Matt Skiba and The Sekerets)" http://cooltry.com.au/interview-matt-skiba-alkaline-trio-matt-skiba-and-the-skerets/, Cool Try (26 June 2012).

Life, People, Cats, Time

“My personal way to be a hero… is to be a vegetarian.”

George Chakiris (1934) American dancer, singer and actor

At the pre-show of the musical Loving the Silent Tears, as quoted in "That Musical About Veganism Starring Jon Secada and Based on the Poetry of Supreme Master Ching Hai, Explained", LA Weekly (October 30, 2012) http://www.laweekly.com/arts/that-musical-about-veganism-starring-jon-secada-and-based-on-the-poetry-of-supreme-master-ching-hai-explained-2373111.

Way, Personality

“In the case of agriculture and drought, there’s a clear and accessible action most citizens can take: reducing or, ideally, eliminating the consumption of animal products. Changing one’s diet to replace 50 percent of animal products with edible plants like legumes, nuts and tubers results in a 30 percent reduction in an individual’s food-related water footprint. Going vegetarian, a better option in many respects, reduces that water footprint by almost 60 percent.”

James E. McWilliams (1968) American historian

"Meat Makes the Planet Thirsty", in The New York Times (7 March 2014) https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html.

Food, Water, Change, Animals

“Either I am going mad, or this country has lost its marbles, especially when it comes to our legal system. Listen to this. A child murderer had been awarded compensation because the food in jail did not cater for his Islamic beliefs — it was not halal. Halal food bans pork, and all other animals must be slaughtered in a certain way. I didn't know you had to kill cabbages. The baby killer is a Muslim. For four months, in the Maryborough Correctional Centre, he was fed a vegetarian diet. He complained to QCAT (the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal), and he got $3000. When I tell you what this callous bastard did, I think you'll agree he's lucky to even get bread and water. In some countries, he wouldn't still be alive to even get a meal. Raymond Akhtar Ali ran an halal butcher's shop. He was married, but started having an affair with a 22-year-old employee, Amanda Blackwell. The Supreme Court was told she become his "sex slave"; he got her pregnant. When the baby was born in secret, this devout Muslim killed the child, and the butcher, butchered the baby. The dismemebered body was buried throughout his house. In 2000, Ali was sentenced to life imprisonment. And this killer, due for parole next year, had the audacity to complain about the jail food. So he was fed vegetables. So what? This is a sick joke.”

Derryn Hinch (1944) New Zealand–Australian media personality

Today Tonight, 15 August 2013.

Life, Secret, Food, Sex

“[Vegetarian lifestyle] made me feel great. I still feel young, totally healthy. I’ve fought in the sport for many years and I feel like it’s something that’s helped me tremendously. But I’ve never eaten meat, so I can’t compare the two and say, ‘This is what it does better.’ But all the people I know who have gone from eating meat to not eating meat say they feel much better.”

Jake Shields (1979) American mixed martial artist

"Jake Shields talks vegetarianism, Demian Maia and Nick Diaz", interview with the Las Vegas Sun (8 October 2013) https://lasvegassun.com/news/2013/oct/08/jake-shields-talks-vegetarianism-nick-diaz/.

People, Feeling, Sport, Help

“Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steaks to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian.”

Heywood Broun (1888–1939) American sportswriter

Quoted by Lin Yutang in The Wisdom of China and India http://books.google.com/books?ei=hCIHT_v4Bqbu0gGz0YWMAw&id=T1gOAAAAYAAJ&q=&quot;Appeasers+believe+that+if+you+keep+on+throwing+steaks+to+a+tiger+the+tiger+will+become+a+vegetarian&quot;&pg=PA268#v=onepage (1942)

“After all, vegetarianism is, more than anything else, the very essence and the very expression of altruistic sharing… the sharing of the One Life… the sharing of the natural resources of the Earth… the sharing of love, kindness, compassion, and beauty in this life.”

H. Jay Dinshah (1933–2000) American proponent of veganism and Jain ethics

The Vegetarian Way, Proceedings of the 24th World Vegetarian Conference (Madras, India, 1977), p. 34; as quoted in Richard H. Schwartz, Judaism and Vegetarianism (New York: Lantern Books, 2001), p. 75 https://archive.org/stream/JudaismAndVegetarianism#page/n99/mode/2up.

Love, Life, Beauty, Nature

“You have to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in – no matter how hard it is – as your beliefs make you who you are amid all the celeb madness. I'm a vegetarian and never wear leather or use products tested on animals. When I was just starting out I'd get a gazillion freebies thrown at me, so it was hard to know what contained what. Now, I've made sure that before I get to a photoshoot people know my stance on that.”

Leona Lewis (1985) British singer-songwriter

Sugar magazine, April 2008

People, Courage, Animals, Madness

“People always assume if you're vegetarian you can just live on cheese and meanwhile cheese is awful for your body even if tastes so good. I'm a massive animal lover too. Being vegan has been so good for me. I've never felt better.”

Kate Mara (1983) American actress

" House of Cards' Kate Mara: 'It is complicated being compared to my sister Rooney' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/house-of-cards-kate-mara-it-is-complicated-being-compared-to-my-sister-kate-rooney-9281446.html". Interview for The Independent. April 25, 2014.

People, Lovers, Animals

“[Since college, being a vegetarian] I physically felt cleaner and lighter. […] Later on, literally I saw somebody eating a chicken wing, and it grossed me out. … My body was, like, ‘No more. I don’t want it anymore.’ I’ve seen grocery stores change to be more welcoming to a vegetarian’s diet and it’s not as hard as it used to be going to your local supermarket trying to find a substitute. You now have sections in grocery markets that are dedicated to people who are vegetarian.”

Rocsi Diaz (1983) Television and radio personality

Interview with PETA; as quoted in "Rocsi Diaz Dons Brussel Sprouts For PETA Ad" https://www.vibe.com/2013/12/rocsi-diaz-dons-brussel-sprouts-peta-ad/, Vibe (7 December 2013).

People, Change

“Vegetarianism alone can give us the quality of compassion, which distinguishes man from the rest of the animal world.”

Morarji Desai (1896–1995) Former Indian Finance Minister, Freedom Fighters, Former prime minister

19th World Vegetarian Congress 1967

World, Animals

“The generally accepted computation is that 2½ acres of land are required to provide a minimum adequate diet for each person, by Western standards anyhow. On a vegetarian diet it has been estimated that 1½ acres per head may provide enough. The reason for this difference is that animals grazed for meat-eating purposes require about 15 times more land than is necessary to raise an equivalent amount of nutrition in the form of grains, vegetables and fruit for human consumption. This means that India, on a vegetarian diet, is living far more wisely within its own land resources than are the meat-eating peoples.”

Richard Gregg (social philosopher)

Which Way Lies Hope? An Examination of Capitalism, Communism, Socialism and Gandhiji's Programme (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1952), p. 8 https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.54786/2015.54786.Which-Way-Lies-Hope#page/n15/mode/2up.

People, Time, Animals, Personality

“The biblical case for vegetarianism does not rest on the view that killing may never be allowable in the eyes of God, rather on the view that killing is always a grave matter. When we have to kill to live we may do so, but when we do not, we should live otherwise. It is vital to appreciate the force of this argument. In past ages many – including undoubtedly the biblical writers themselves – have thought that killing for food was essential in order to live. But … we now know that – at least for those now living in the rich West – it is perfectly possible to sustain a healthy diet without any recourse to flesh products. … Those individuals who opt for vegetarianism can do so in the knowledge that they are living closer to the biblical ideal of peaceableness than their carnivorous contemporaries. The point should not be minimized. In many ways it is difficult to know how we can live more peaceably in a world striven by violence and greed and consumerism. Individuals often feel powerless in the face of great social forces beyond even democratic control. To opt for a vegetarian life-style is to take one practical step towards living in peace with the rest of creation. One step towards reducing the rate of institutionalized killing in the world today.”

Andrew Linzey (1952) British theologian and divine

Source: Animal Theology (1994), pp. 131-132

Life, God, Age, World

Quotes about vegetarianism page 2

Quotes about vegetarianism
page 2